Sign up to follow by e-mail in order to not miss my posts. Enter your e-mail address in the box on the left and click on submit..
Note - most stories are fictional and do not refer to anyone in particular living or dead. True stories will say they are true!

New FREE e-book: The Old Man and the Widow

Pages

Monday, February 13, 2017

Moving On -Chapter 7 - Meanwhile back East

Papa
and I had no more financial interest back in the farms my brothers still owned
but there was still the family connection. Anything that affected the family
was of concern for Papa and me.

Since
both of us couldn't be away from the banking business Papa decided I should go
and see what could be done to straighten things out.

Mercy
got along with papa's new wife although she wasn't very new now because they
had been together for a number of years. Given that she had lived in the East
all her life and associated with the lower society (people who were not super
rich) she had good manners and Mercy helped her to be proper in the higher
societal echelons.

This was where the real money was to be made and Papa
wanted to fit right in. He had no
trouble mixing with the men for most of them were a bit raunchy.

However with the women it was a bit more difficult
because the women of that ilk were quite catty and gossipy.

The idea was to add something to the subject matter
and be able to fight off the slings and arrows that were cast at you; All this
while remaining friends with the people you were slamming.

Since my step-mother was quite successful in this
endeavor Papa always had an open door for conducting business.

Papa
was going to be busy going back and forth between Sacramento
and San Francisco
but he thrived on all the action he was getting. The only thing I didn't like
about this arrangement was he would change the way I operated into his style of
doing things. When I returned I would have to change things back.

I
finally hired three extra employees to setup an extra set of books and when he
wanted to see how the business was doing he could look at his books. He found
out what I was doing and started to pitch a fit till I told him it was a check
and balance way to keep the employees honest.He never mentioned it again. He liked the idea of keeping the hires’
honest.

Now
it was time for me to head back east and deal with whatever the issue was back
there.

As
I stated before there was no connection between the two businesses. The ranches
belong to the part of the family that had remained and the West coast
businesses belong to Papa and me.

When
I arrived it seemed that no one was happy to see me. Neither of my brothers
wanted to see me so I stayed in town instead of going out to one of the
ranches.

Another
thing, no one wanted to talk to me so I went to the bank and found out what the
problem was. It seemed that some of the in-laws had borrowed quite a large sum
of money against our holdings on the West coast. They claimed to be partners
with Papa and me, putting up our holdings as security. They wasted the money
they borrowed and now it was time to pay it back.

The
bank told me that if I didn't pay up immediately they would sue. I asked for
copies of proof that the in-laws owned or had an interest in our properties.

They
produced some papers and documents which were forgeries and I told the bankers
that they should have the in-laws arrested for fraud.

I
went on and told them they should come against the ranch properties the
families owned. The told me that the ranches were up to the hilt with mortgages
and there was no equity left in them.

Cutting Ties

(This
saddened me for before I had love and respect for all four of my brothers,
Albert, George, Phillip, and Charles. I wasn't sure why they shunned me;
whether they were ashamed or just lost respect for me. Whatever the reason we
were finished and no longer a family.)

Upon
hearing that I produced evidence that Papa and I were the only owners of the West
coast properties with the history of said properties. The bankers could immediately
see that what they loaned against wasn't the same holdings as that which Papa
and I owned.

They
apologized and said they hoped I understood how the mistake had been made. I
told them I would forget the whole matter if they paid my expenses incurred by
the travel including a new suit I damaged in a fight with a drunk on the main
street. They agreed and as I left, the bankers called for the sheriff.

By the time I left I knew
everything about everything. What they did and why they did it. I understood
why they didn't want to see me or talk to me. After making the discoveries I
didn't want to see them either.

I contacted Papa and laid
everything out for him he said catch the next train and come home. He added let
them stew in the mess they made family or not.